music and us

Ever since I was young, I loved listening to different types of music and experimenting with the different sounds around me. I don't think I've ever found a type of music that I hate. I can't wait to use this opportunity to share some of the interesting music around the world I have been exposed to!

Starting off strong with some Ethiopian Jazz/Funk/Soul! The musician I'm specifically going to talk about is Hailu Mergia. He is a famous keyboardist, accordionist, composer, and arranger that is now located in Washington DC. At one point in his life in Ethiopia, there was a certain dictatorship that created lots of music censorship, especially towards religious and vocal music. All lyrics had to praise the government, nothing else. A way Mergia found to get by this was to create instrumental music. One great song of his that I love is "Anchin Kfu Ayinkash", which he create while in the Dahlak Band. I highly recommend listening if you need something simple and soothing to put in the background of daily chores/activities. (Modern, Africa)

Next, I'd like to talk about a beautiful, traditional song in Korea, "Arirang". Because of the song's ambiguous origins and historical connections to unity, it is a recognized traditional song in both North and South Korea. What's interesting about this song is there are thousands of different variations to hundreds of different versions. The lyrics and tune are different based on the locations, dialects, cultures, legends, and eras. Because the history of this song is so ambiguous, there are different theories and legends that shape how different regions in North and South Korea recite it. The only similarity to all these versions is the main tune! The importance of this song dates back to the Korean War and Japanese occupation. During the Korean War, it was used as a way to convey that even with the country separating, there is still unity between the people. During the Japanese occupation of Korea, it was used as a rebellious anthem to show the resilience of the Korean people throughout the bans and censorship of the language and culture. Overall, this is a very patriotic tune that connects the Korean people to what once was taken from them. My favorite version of Arirang would have to be a more modern version by the singer So Hyang, "Arirang Alone". (Traditional & Modern, Asia)

Now, I'll slow things down a bit with some nice Brazilian Bossa Nova. The genre Bossa Nova is a slowed version of Samba with Jazz-like improvisations. It was first created and heard in the 1950s-1960s by the Brazilian guitarist, João Gilberto. He introduced syncopation and slower pacing in the Samba genre and it blossomed into his own extraordinary type of popular music throughout Brazil! I really wish I could recommend more than one song per genre so I could show off some wonderful songs from his discography, such as "So Danço Samba" and "Chega de Saudade". My favorite Bossa Nova song is actually not by him. It's a duet by Elis Regina and Tom Jobim called "Aguas de Março". The reason this is my favorite is you can really tell how much fun they are having while singing. You don't even have to watch the video to hear the smiles in their voices, especially at the end! (Traditional & Modern, Latin America)

For a fun ending, one really interesting genre from Japan is Vocaloid! Vocaloid was actually first created as an AI software by Yamaha. In it, there are banks of voices that you can choose from and you put that voice onto a line of music (from the notes of a piano). You can also add syllables to the lines to create lyrics! As the software grew, so did it's definition. The more people used the software to create music, the more fans it garnered and it became it's own genre! Separate avatars were created for the voices that have gained a lot of world renown. Many people have probably heard of the most popular one, Hatsune Miku. In the world of Vocaloid, the music is created by different producers, while the singing is used by the programed voices. Because of this, many songs are credited to both the producer and the avatars. One of my favorite Vocaloid songs would be “Color and Electricity” by muship, using the voice of Hatsune Miku. The lyrics are a little crazy (as most Vocaloid songs are) but the songs vibe is very fun! (Modern, Asia)

I hope you enjoyed all my recommendations and I can't wait to see all that have been recommended back for our playlist! This class overall has introduced me to so many interesting and amazing cultures and music everywhere around the world and I can't wait to listen to even more later in life!